Khaleda Zia calls Awami League a terror group

Bangladesh's main opposition leader Khaleda Zia Saturday called ruling the Awami League a terror group, media reported.

The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) leader and former prime minister said the law-and-order situation in the country has immensely deteriorated under the ruling Awami League, bdnews24.com reported.

She was speaking at a mass rally of the 20-party opposition alliance in Jamalpur district of Dhaka division Saturday.

Zia, who heads the coalition, mentioned several killings that took place during the Awami League regime and held its leaders responsible for those acts.

"This Awami League has been killing and making people disappear. It is a party of killers and hijackers," she told the crowd of supporters.

Reiterating her demand for abolition of the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), the elite unit formed to combat terrorism, she said their guns were now being used for political gains.

The Awami League, which returned to power through the Jan 5 national elections and which her party boycotted, has formed an "illegal" government, Khaleda said.

Speaking at the rally, she demanded early polls under a "neutral" body.